The Kingdom Fantasy
by SqueenixFanficFangirl
Summary: After his guardians are unable to take care of him any longer, Sora comes upon the house that his birth mother lived in when she was alive. As he walks up the steps, unsure of who'll he'll meet or what will happen, Sora hopes that one day he'll find him.
1. Chapter 1

Sora walked up the house at the end of the street. He clutched the small piece of paper in his hand before double checking the address scrawled on it with the number on the house.

"So, this is where she used to live?" he asked himself. Sora slowly walked up the small set of stone steps towards the door, all the while thoughts and doubts running through his head.

_'This is a stupid idea, no one probably lives here anymore, it's been years, and if anyone even did live here once they probably moved a long while ago...' _Sora hesitantly knocked on the door, feeling guilty that he was just gonna disturb somebody who probably had no idea who he was. Sora waited a bit, his stomach flip-flopping as he heard footsteps. He considered making a blind dash for it before the door swung open and a teenager version of himself with black hair stepped out, stopped and stared at him with his golden eyes. Sora could only stare at the kid that looked freakily like some kind of mirror image of himself, only older and with black hair. He was snapped out of his thoughts as the teen snapped at him.

"Who the fuck are you?" Startled, Sora quickly replied,

"I'm Sora, Sora Gainsborough, um, I was wondering, did a woman named Aerith used to live here? Like, a long time ago?" Sora smiled and sheepishly ran his fingers through his hair, embarrassment seeping into his skin. The teen just stood stock still and started to glare at him. Uncomfortable under his gaze Sora nervously continued, "W-well you see, I'm just asking because Aerith is my mother, like my biological mother, but I came here because I'm looking for my dad, I don't know who he is exactly, but-" Sora was cut off by the dark-haired teen suddenly moving forward, grabbing his clothes, spinning him around and slamming him into the brick wall of the house.

"Is this your idea of some kind of sick joke?" The teen angrily asks a very confused Sora.

"Huh? W-what?"

"Your Aerith's son, eh? I'm impressed, you got the maiden name right and everything. And you even got the looks down to a T! Brown spiky hair? Check. Blue eyes? Check. What's next? Cloud Strife is your father and you're just trying to find him?" The teen spat in a whiny mocking voice as he glared right into Sora's blue eyes. Sora can only stare right back, confusion and fear tumbling around inside him, not sure how to respond to his accusations.

"I-I don't-"

"This is funny to you isn't it? We'll see how funny it is when I bash your fucking skull in!" Sora paled and grabbed at the teen's hands trying to free himself and run away. Suddenly a rock came out of nowhere and hit the dark-haired teen square in the back of the head. Hissing in pain as he grabbed the back of his skull, the teen dropped Sora. Sora then scrambled to his feet and ran down the stones steps only to come face to face with another pissed off looking teenager, only this teen had spiky blonde hair and was glaring at the black-haired teen and not him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Vanitas?" Vanitas turned to face him and spat back

"Me? What the fuck are you doing throwing rocks at my fucking skull? Goddamnit Ventus!" Vanitas kept one hand on the back his now very painful head. Ventus turned to Sora,

"Hey kid, are you...okay...?" He finished slowly as he stared at a younger, brown-haired version of the asshole on the porch muttering 'Fuck' underneath his breath. Sora crossed his arms.

"I'm not a kid, I'm 16 years old." Ventus just blinked, then turned to Vanitas,

"Hey, I didn't know you had a little brother." Vanitas glared at Ventus.

"Oh you're in on it too? Why does that not surprise me, you ass! Get out of my house, both of you!" Sora stepped forward a bit and again pressed him for answers.

"Wait! Could you please just tell me if she used to live here? I need to know, please!" Vanitas ground his teeth then quickly bent to pick up the rock that Ventus had thrown at him earlier, aimed at Sora then yelled out,

"You're pushing your luck asswipe, I said, get the fuck out!" Ventus grabbed Sora's arm and pulled him out of the path of the rock.

"Why are you being such an ass?" Vanitas just scoffed, turned around, went back into his house and slammed the door behind him. Ventus turned to Sora and then started walking away. "It doesn't look like he's in the mood to answer questions...ummm...?" Sora stood there for a second and then quickly answered,

"Oh! I'm Sora, Sora Gainsborough."

"Nice to meet you Sora, I'm Ventus Strife. Obviously you guys aren't really related, no matter the weird resemblance, so who's this girl you're looking for? Vanitas steal your girlfriend or something?"

"Oh, no. I was trying to ask him if a woman used to live here a long time ago, she's my birth mother you see, but she died when I was really young and the only thing I know about her was that she lived here when she was alive." Ventus nodded,

"I don't know anything about that, Vanitas and his dad have lived there for as long as I can remember, maybe she lived there before they moved in?" Sora lowered his head,

"I see." Ventus saw his upset face and asked,

"So why was Vanitas about to bash your skull in?" Sora raised his head again and looked confused.

"He got mad at me for some reason, asking if 'this was my idea of a sick joke' or something." Sora suddenly stopped and looked at Ventus, "Wait! You said your last name was Strife?" Ventus stopped and nodded.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Uh well, you wouldn't happen to know who Cloud Strife is would you?" Ventus raised an eyebrow at him.

"Cloud Strife? Yeah he's my dad." Sora looked surprised now.

"Really!"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I guess Vanitas mentioned him when I asking him questions, he said, 'What's next, Cloud Strife is your father?' or something." Sora just sighed. Ventus thought for a second, then shrugged,

"That is weird. Though it could be he was in a bad mood at the time and was just thinking about everyone that pisses him off." Ventus started walking again, Sora following. "So Sora, since you went and bugged Vanitas you're obviously new around here, but I didn't see any moving vans or anything recently. Where do you live?" Sora stopped, Ventus looked back to see Sora looking at the ground, sadness in his eyes.

"Sora?" Sora ran his hand through his hair sheepishly and smiled nervously at Ventus.

"Uhh, well, that's sort of why I was at his house in the first place. I lived with my grandparents until a while ago. My grandpa has been dead for a while, and now my grandmother has gotten worse with her Alzheimer's recently. A few weeks ago she completely forgot who I was for awhile and for the first time ever, she was just rambling on about my birth mother and where she used to live. Usually she doesn't to talk about her and always avoided the subject. She probably doesn't remember me at all anymore, and since I'm 16 now, child services can't really do much. I didn't have anywhere else to go except maybe to go where my mother lived and try to find my dad or something. I was hoping maybe my dad still lived there, or even did live there once or something, but now that I think about it, that's not very likely is it? So, I don't really live anywhere I guess..." Ventus walked back over to Sora,

"Wait, so, where are you staying tonight then?" Sora shifted awkwardly on his feet.

"...dunno.." Ventus looked at him worriedly. This wasn't exactly the greatest neighbourhood in the middle of the night. Especially for a 16 year old kid from out of town who is probably gonna fall asleep in an alley way somewhere. Ventus stood there thinking for a bit before saying,

"Hey, how about this?" Sora looked up.

"What?" Ventus smiled and grinned,

"Just come home with me! I'll tell my parents you're sleeping over for the night and then we can figure out something else in the morning!" Sora brightened up,

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Yeah, no worries! Follow me." Sora happily skipped alongside Ventus before smiling and saying.

"Thanks so much Ventus! But, is it really okay? What will your parents think?" Ventus just waved his hand in the air.

"It's fine, I bring home friends all the time. I have a bunk bed from when me and brother were young and still shared a room and my mom never really cares if I have friends over, she trusts me." Sora brightened up even more at that and he excitedly walked backwards in front of Ventus.

"You have a bunk bed? That's so cool! Can I have the top bunk?" Ventus just laughed at the excited look on Sora's face.

"Sure!"


	2. Chapter 2

Sora and Ventus walk through the door to Ventus's house. Ventus kicked off his shoes and walked through the door, Sora quickly following suit.

"Hey mom! I brought a friend over! You don't mind if he spends the night right?" A voice came from the kitchen in front of them.

"Hey Ventus," A teen who looked like a twin of Ventus walked out into the living room. "Did you bring Terra over this time? 'cause I-" He stopped what he was saying and stared at Sora."...Ventus...why did you invite Vanitas to stay over? And what the hell did he do to his hair?" Roxas said staring incredulously at his brother, known hated enemy of Vanitas, before turning to stare warily at Sora and his very brunette hair. Sora laughed confusedly.

"Do I really look that much like him?" Ventus turned and laughed once.

"You really do. When I was walking past you guys I thought I was seeing double! It was kind of funny to see Vanitas about to beat the crap out of himself." Sora just smiled.

"That would be kind of funny!" Ventus looked over to Roxas and the confused look on his face.

"Roxas, this is my buddy Sora! Sora, this is my brother Roxas!" Sora walked up to Roxas and held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you!" he said while smiling. Roxas shook his hand and nodded.

"Same." A long, black haired woman came out from the kitchen.

"Welcome home Ventus, you're just in time for lunch and what's this about a friend staying over?" She looked up to see Sora, but before she could have the same reaction as Roxas, Ventus piped up.

"He's not Vanitas, mom. This is my new friend, Sora. He sure does look like him though eh?" She studied Sora for a second before saying,

"Woah, They could almost be twins! Hey, maybe they are! How old are you Sora?"

"I'm 16." She shook her head.

"Nope. Vanitas is almost 18, you're a couple years too late to be twins, but that resemblance is really something eh?" She grinned at him and Sora laughed and ran his hands through his spiky hair again.

"Yeah, I guess so." Ventus laughed.

"You should have seen them together! Vanitas thought Sora was playing a joke on him and nearly beat the crap out of him!" Sora turned towards Ventus.

"Yeah, I'm lucky you were there. I didn't expect him to get all mad just because I asked him a question." His mom look at him questioningly, then Roxas piped up.

"He's not exactly user-friendly. It's probably best if you try to stay away from him." Ventus's mom shook her head then looked back up at Sora.

"So, Sora, did you just move into this neighbourhood? Where do you live?" Sora shifted nervously.

"Uh, well, I live, near, here, I guess. Not too far away." Just then another voice popped in from the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm finished my lunch! Can I go play video games now?" Roxas raised an eyebrow at Sora who still looked kind of nervous. Their mom turned to yell back.

"Yes! But first put all your dishes in the sink! Got it?"

"Okay." Their mom turned towards them again.

"Well, come on everybody, I just made some lunch now. Oh! I'll make a plate for you too, Sora." Sora perked up at the thought of food.

'_Oh, that's right. I haven't eaten in a while.' _Sora suddenly thinks of his grandma and the food she used to cook for him, when her memory was still good. A small knot begins to form in his stomach as he starts feeling homesick. He tries to suppress the feeling as they all sit down to lunch.

"Hope you like French toast Sora! I made a huge pile of it, so dig in!" Roxas's Mom put a big plate of French toast on the table, and then went to get maple syrup and icing sugar. Roxas sat down at the plate he grabbed before and Ventus grabbed some of his own and they both starting chowing down. Sora took a few pieces and then drizzled some of the maple syrup over it and a little dab of icing sugar. Their mom took just one slice and just put a sprinkle of the sugar on it. The all stuffed their faces for a bit before she spoke up.

"So, Sora, You live, "near here, I guess?" What do you mean guess? I think you should know where you live!" She said light heartedly. Sora nearly choked on his French toast out of nervousness. He nervously swallowed, fidgeted a little under her curious gaze before averting his eyes away from hers and ate another mouthful of the French toast. She prodded him again. "C'mon don't be shy about it. You live in the next neighbourhood over don't you? I know! I saw a moving van over there about a couple weeks ago! Was that your family's?" The knot in Sora's stomach got worse at the word "family".

"Uhh, no I don't think so.." Sora looked down at his half-eaten French toast, suddenly not feeling so hungry. She closed her eyes and hmmed. She was having fun at playing this guessing game.

"I was sure that was it...Oh! I know, Sora what's your last name? I bet I can figure out where you live if I have that as a clue!" She grinned playfully. Sora spoke without looking up.

"Gainsborough. I'm Sora Gainsborough." Her grin instantly dropped off her face to be replaced by one of confused shock, but only for a quick second, being replaced again by a kind smile.

"So tell me Sora, why were you at Vanitas's house anyway? What was the question you asked him?" Sora looked up and then just quietly sighed.

'_No point in avoiding her questions anymore I guess.._' He looked up at her and ran his hands through his spiky hair sheepishly. "It's kind of a long story actually. Well to begin with, I live with my grandparents on Destiny Island; well I used to live with them." Roxas, Ventus and their mom all looked up at him at that.

"You live on Destiny Island?" Roxas said incredulously. Ventus looked surprised. His mom looked concerned.

"You used to? What happened?"

"My grandpa died like 4 years ago and my grandma started having problems with her memory ever since then. It got to the point where for a week she completely forgot who I was. She was recently deemed unfit to be my guardian anymore and I was gonna be put into foster care, but because I'm 16, I won't be put into a foster home or anything like that, I'm too old apparently." She pitied Sora then, only imagining how it must feel to have loved ones forget you exist.

"What about your parents? Do you, not have any?" She looked nervous asking, as if she was expecting something.

"Well, that's why I came here. See, during the week my grandma 'forgot' me, she actually started to answer my questions about my real parents. She didn't really give any coherent answers I guess, more like she just rambled on about my mom and what kind of person she was, and what she was like when she was little, which was kinda nice. Then she remembered the last time she visited my mom and remembered the address and everything. 365 Days Road, Twilight Town. I never knew who my dad was, and I don't think even my grandma know anything either, or if she did she's never said anything. I figured my best chance was to come here and ask questions, see if i could find him ya know? Or at least someone who might have known who they were." The dark-haired woman sat silently, absorbing this information.

"Hey, wait, Isn't that Vanitas's house?" said Roxas. "That's kind of strange; he and his dad have lived there for like, ever."

"Especially how he reacted to it. I mean, all you did was ask a question and he completely freaked out. That's over reacting even for Vanitas." Ventus noted. She spoke up quietly then.

"Your mother's name... what was her name again?" Sora spoke so simply, unaware of the powerful effects his words would soon have on the people around him.

"Her name was Aerith." Her eyes widened at that, this small action went unnoticed by Sora and Roxas, But Ventus caught it. He noticed she'd been acting a little strange since she started asking questions. She raised her hand up to her mouth and her eyes looked like she was thinking deeply about something. Ventus looked back at Sora when Roxas noticed something kind of important.

"Okay wait, wait. If you have no parents or grandparents or a car or anything like that, how the hell did you get here from Destiny Island all the way to Twilight Town? That's like a 3 hour long boat trip across the water and then a 6 hour drive!" Sora looked up and said

"Oh, well I had enough money for a one way ferry ticket..." Their mom looked up at this and questioned him again.

"...and the 6 hour drive?" Sora squirmed uncomfortably in his seat before admitting,

"...I hitchhiked half of it and had bus fare for the rest of the way." Roxas and Ventus stopped and gaped opened mouthed at him. Sora flinched when their mom suddenly stood up pushing the chair back a bit, putting her hands down on the table and nearly shouting in disbelief,

"You did WHAT?" Sora stared at her and then smiled and laughed nervously. Mothering instincts going crazy inside her head, she sits down and puts her hands over her face before looking back up suddenly in realization.

"And you planned on staying where exactly while you figuring all this out?"

"I thought there would maybe a hotel or something near here, I have a little bit of money on me, I figured I'd ask someone for directions or something." She stared blankly at him, running scenarios through her head of a naive 16 year old boy walking around the bad part of downtown telling people he had money and asking for directions to a hotel. Ventus face-palmed and they we're all pretty much thinking the same thing,

'_This kid's gonna get abducted if we let him go anywhere alone.' _Roxas was the first one to speak.

"...Have you ever even left Destiny Islands before?" Sora shook his head.

"No." Ventus and his mother just look at each other and nod. Since they were finished lunch they all started putting their dishes away.

"Well, that settles it I guess." Sora looked at Their mom who had spoken.

"Settles what?"

"You're gonna stay with us while you're here in Twilight Town Sora. You can probably stay in Ventus's room because he has the extra bed." Sora perked up at this.

"You..you'd really let me stay here?" She turned and smiled at him.

"Of course! Just promise me one thing Sora, if you wanna go into town or anything like that, take either Ventus or Roxas with you please. I wouldn't feel comfortable letting you walk around alone somewhere you've never been before. I don't want you to get...lost or anything like that. Okay?" Sora smiled and nodded.

"Sure, thank you so much!" She just grinned.

"Why doesn't Roxas show you the den? You guys can go play some video games with Luneth for a while." Roxas jumped up at that.

"Oh yeah! Come on we got some awesome video games!" Sora follows Roxas downstairs into the basement. They get down there to see Luneth has already abandoned the game system.

"Sweet, My little bro isn't hogging the system anymore. Wanna play Halo?" Sora nodded and was about to grab the second controller when Luneth came out of nowehere and tackled Roxas.

"Hey no fair! Mom said I could play video games!" Roxas shrugged him off while focusing on the screen and saying,

"Well, you snooze, you lose Onion-head" Luneth kicked Roxas and yelled back.

"I'm not an onion! Moooom! Roxas is calling me an onion again! And he won't let me play video games!" and ran off to find their mom. Sora stood there awkwardly until Roxas handed him the second controller, Sora took it and sat down next to him as Roxas said,

"Ever played Halo before?"

"Nope." replied Sora.

"Well then watch and learn from the master young grasshopper, because I'm totally gonna kick your ass in ten seconds flat." Sora laughed and Roxas smirked as he then proceeded to completely destroy Sora's guy. Sora stared at the TV.

"Wow, you weren't kidding."

"Nope."


	3. Chapter 3

Once Sora and Roxas left downstairs, Ventus turned to his mom,

"So wanna tell me why you we're acting weird about him?" She sighed.

"It's nothing important...I just need to call your father." Ventus, totally believing her, rolled his eyes.

"...Uh huh. Right, well, I'll be in my room then." Ventus left and she walked into the kitchen towards the phone. She reached for it as she felt tears grow in her eyes. She had to put her hand on her mouth to stifle the sob that nearly escaped. After all this time, after everything they had been through, this happens. It really wasn't fair. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and wiped her face off.

'_No, I can't blame the kid,'_ she thought, _'this isn't his fault.' _She reaches for the phone again as Luneth comes screaming into the kitchen.

"Moooom! Roxas is calling me an onion again! And he won't let me play video games! I wanna play video games! You said I could! It's not fair!" Startled from her thoughts, she spun around to catch Luneth and stop him yelling.

"Oh Luneth, You'll get another chance to play video games, here, go have a snack or something, I've got to call your father." She reaches the phone this time and dials as Luneth grumbles towards the fridge and get himself a glass of juice and grabs some cookies from the shelf. He plops himself down at the table and starts eating, watching her out of curiosity as the phone rings in her ears. She takes another deep breath just in time for the other end to pick up the phone and talk.

"_Hey, how are you doing?"_

"Cloud, you have to come home as soon as you can. We need to talk."

"_Why? What's wrong?" _

"The kids were walking by Zack's house today and saw Vanitas yelling at some kid and then throwing him out of his house. He's okay now and he's here with the boys playing games but that's not the problem..."

"_...I'm listening?" _

"He says that he's Aerith's son."

"_...wha-...what?" _

"He was at Vanitas's house because he was looking for his father."

"_...you mean, Zack?" _

"..."

"_Tifa?" _

"He says he doesn't know who his father is and that he's been living with his grandparents all this time, I didn't even know they were raising a kid...or that Gast had died. Ifalna has Alzheimer's according to the kid and knows nothing about his father...no name...no description...but when you see him...I just..." She turned away from Luneth and whispered into the phone. "This is too much Cloud, I mean, he looks like Vanitas could be his twin, except for his light brown hair, but his eyes...they're the same color as..as yours and the boys'...he's 16 Cloud...I just..."

"_Aerith had blue eyes too Tifa. Listen, that, happened so long ago...we've talked about this...I know I screwed up things. I was drunk and, everything that happened after, you know I would never-"_ She cut him off then.

"I know that...I know you would never do that in your right mind Cloud. It's just, seeing him here, he has your eyes and her smile and that spiky hair I mean, what is Zack gonna think when he sees him? What if he really is-" This time it was his turn to cut her off.

"_Don't jump to any conclusions before we know the whole story. See if you still have Ifalna's phone number written down somewhere and call her, if her memory is going try to get out of her whatever information you can. We don't even know for sure if he's telling the truth, Calm down, okay? I love you."_ Tifa took a deep breathe to calm herself.

"If he really is Aerith's son, I'm not convinced yet that he really is, but if he is, Vanitas is just as much her son as this kid is, so it'd be no wonder if they look alike. I'll be home real soon. I love You, Tifa." Tifa sighed .

"...I love you too Cloud. I'll see you when you get home."

"_Tifa, one more thing." _

"Yeah?"

"_What's this kid's name?" _

"Sora Gainsborough."

"_...Alright, I'll be home soon. Bye." _

"Bye." Cloud hung up the phone and pressed his hand against his forehead, trying to stop the sudden memory from entering his mind. They were nineteen.

"_Hey Cloud?" Aerith sat down beside him on the grass._

"_Yeah?" Cloud got up from where he was laying down and sat up beside his girlfriend. Aerith looked at him and smiled._

"_If you ever had kids, what would you name them?" Cloud smiled back and closed his eyes, lying back down. _

"_Kids? Hmmm, boy or girl?" Aerith thought for a moment, before lying down next to Cloud. She whispered in his ear._

"_A boy." Cloud pretended to think for a moment, then opened his eyes again and said,_

"_No idea, how about you?" Aerith lay on her back and looked up. She lifted her hand and pointed straight upwards. Cloud followed to where her hand was pointing and then looked back at her._

"_The sky? Why the sky?" Aerith giggled and rolled back onto her side to face Cloud._

"_Because then you would always be a part of it silly."_

Cloud hung his head over the steering wheel. He sighed and he flipped through his phone to find Aerith's picture.

"Sora...means 'Sky', doesn't it?"

He pressed the cold plastic of the phone against his forehead, trying to stop the memories from playing themselves out again.

Aerith and him had dated for a while when they were young, even then he couldn't say he really loved her deeply, but he did care for her. They broke up after realizing they were better friends than lovers and they were fine with that. Eventually Aerith met Zack and Cloud met Tifa and they went on with their lives. After they both got married, all four of them became close friends. They even both had their first kids together on the same date. Zack and Aerith had Vanitas and Cloud and Tifa had Ventus.

But then, that happened. There was no way they planned for it to happen, and even today he still doesn't really know why they did it. All four of them we're at a club. They'd been drinking and Zack had gotten into a drunken brawl with some random guy. Tifa cheered them on in her drunkenness and broke a few bottles herself. They got seperated and didn't notice Cloud helping Aerith stumble into the bathroom, thinking she was gonna be sick she was so wasted.

But then she kissed him and he went with the feeling, too drunk and unaware of what he was thinking or feeling to stop. Both of them got caught up on the feeling and the heat, knowing in the back of their minds that somehow they were both doing something very wrong. That rush of wrong-but-oh-so-right and the drunkenness finally driving them to fuck each other on the bathroom floor with half closed eyes, each murmuring unfamiliar names in the other's ears. Sound and sight became a muted illusion to both as they drowned in the feeling of pleasure. Then just as quickly as they started, they were done. The sound of Aerith crying out the name of her husband as she falls back on the ground and the sound of Cloud moaning out the name of his wife were just as suddenly all too loud and as real as the cold floor beneath them. They separate, as if they only just now discovered that they we're not with their lovers. She cries and covers her mouth as it hits her what they just did. She can only sob and beg.

_"Oh god, don't tell Zack...I can't believe I just..." he sits up_

_"Aerith..I-I'm..I'm sorry...you..I thought..Tifa.." she shakes her head._

_"No, me too. I thought that Zack was...oh please don't tell him Cloud, you can't!" he looks at her crying face full of guilt._

_"...I won't...I don't think I can..Tifa.." She gets up quickly and gathers her dress, before putting it back on._

_"This night never happened...This was a mistake, nothing more, we can just forget it and move on okay? Zack and Tifa don't ever need to know about this. Okay?" They finish dressing in silence and Aerith fixes her makeup quickly while Cloud just splashes cold water on his face. His head is reeling from what they just did. Aerith turned to Cloud._

_"Go get Tifa and go home Cloud. Me and Zack are leaving too."_

_"Aerith, I'm sorry. Believe me when I say I didn't think this was gonna happen tonight. Or ever."_

_"I know. I'm sorry too."_

That night both of them made passionate love to their husband and wife, trying to rid themselves of the guilt and the memory. But Aerith soon cracked under the pressure.

"_Cloud...I'm pregnant. I have to tell Zack the truth, in case...in case it's yours...and you need to tell Tifa as well."_

And they both had to confront their spouses.

"_Tifa, I'm sorry. If I had been sober enough to realize it wasn't you, I would have never done it. Not in a million years-"_

"_Don't. Just, don't Cloud."_

"_Zack I wasn't planning on sleeping with him, believe me on that. Both of us just got so drunk we didn't realize who the other person was until it was too late."_

"_That doesn't matter! I know Cloud! We go drinking all the time. He can hold his alcohol just fine! I won't forgive him for this Aerith!"_

"_Tifa, I'm sorry."_

"_...Cloud."_

"_I'm sorry Zack!"_

"_...I don't blame you Aerith-"_

"_Why? This is just as much my fault as it is his!"_

But it was too late. Trust has been broken in four different directions. The couples stopped being friends with each other.

Cloud tried hard to mend Tifa's broken trust in him, after all, he'd married her, he loved her...He didn't want this relationship to fail. Tifa found it hard to forgive Cloud or Aerith, until one day she met with Aerith by chance.

After talking for a while, Tifa decides that dwelling on past mistakes will only make her feel forever hurt and decides to try for a happier future. Aerith is the first to know that Tifa is now pregnant also and so their friendship is mended and her relationship with Cloud begins to become a happier one.

With Zack and Cloud it was harder, because not only did Zack hate and blame Cloud for taking advantage of Aerith, Cloud himself believed that he should have been the one to stop the situation. He should have been in control and he wasn't. So they both avoid each other as much as possible.

Zack and Aerith we're not so lucky.

The guilt starts hitting Cloud full force again as he drives home. No one could have ever have expected that it would go so wrong so fast.

_Zack's car screeches to a halt in front of her parent's house. "Aerith!" Zack bangs on the door and it quickly opens to let him in. Zack rushes in to see Aerith crying on the couch holding her flat stomach. He quickly sits down next her and holds her as she's cries in his arms. He looked up at her mother's sad face._

"_Why didn't you call me sooner when this happened?" pleaded Zack, worried for his wife's health. She shook her head._

"_It all happened so fast. We rushed her to the hospital in a panic. We didn't think about anything other than if she was okay, if the baby was.." Zack looks down and holds his wife tighter, her still sobbing. _

"_And then the doctor's tell us she had a miscarriage, that he was stillborn." She covers her mouth with her hand and starts to cry. They all sit there silently. Aerith was shaking from the sobs and Zack had tears on his face._

"_I'm so sorry Zack, Aerith."_


	4. Chapter 4

'_If this kid is hers, then it was definitely that child.'_ Cloud decided as he drove down the street, but he couldn't understand why Aerith would lie about that. She was so loyal to Zack and would tell him everything, unless...

Cloud sat there concentrating as the pieces start falling into place.

'_If Aerith knew that the child was Zack's, of course she would never hide it from him. That would make no sense. That was what everyone was hoping for.'_ But Cloud knew Aerith; he knew how she dealt with pressure. When Cloud thinks of what Aerith would do if she knew the child was Cloud's, everything clicked into place.

'_She'd never be able to face Zack with my child in her arms. She never wanted to hurt Zack. This child would have been a constant reminder of her mistake. She couldn't live with that fact.' _Cloud parked the car in the driveway, dreading more and more what would happen in the future if Sora was his. Tifa was right, there were just too many things that all click together in place. Then his name, Sora, was definitely a hint to his parentage, he knew it.

"Tifa, I'm home." Cloud walks through the door carrying the bags of groceries. Tifa walks up to him then gives him a hug and a kiss. He holds her back for a bit, and then Tifa yells out.

"Boys! Come help put the groceries away!" In the kitchen Luneth hops down from his chair having just finished his snack. In his bedroom Ventus hears her yell and sighs, thinking in the back of his head that something was finally gonna go down. In the basement Roxas and Sora heard her upstairs. Roxas saved then shut off the game system.

"Dad's home. You should come upstairs and meet him. He knows a lot of people in this neighbourhood and has lived here since forever. If anyone knows anything about your mom, he would know." Sora brightened up at this.

"Really? You think he really might know something about my parents?" Roxas nodded as they came upstairs.

"Definitely."

"So where is he?" Cloud said under his breath to Tifa.

"He went with Roxas into the basement to play video games. Oh that reminds me Cloud, you would not believe how naive this kid is." Tifa placed a hand over her forehead and shook her head when she said this. "He hitchhiked half way across Twilight Town to get here, can you believe that? And he was gonna wander around downtown with money in his pocket asking directions to a hotel." Cloud laughed, Tifa light heartedness lifting his thoughts somewhat.

"Well, he sounds resourceful if nothing else." Just then Roxas and Sora came upstairs and headed straight for the groceries.

"I can help with that!" Sora smiled as he grabbed a bag and headed to the kitchen. Tifa stopped him.

"Wait, Sora. Me and Cloud would to talk to you for a bit, okay?" Sora looked back and looked at Cloud. Cloud has his blank-I-don't-know-what-to-think face on when he saw Sora.

'_He really is the spitting image of Vanitas. That itself can't be a coincidence...but we still need to make sure.' _Sora walked up and smiled while Ventus, Roxas and Luneth watched out of curiosity. Luneth until this point had just assumed that Sora was a new friend of Roxas. Sora held out his hand to Cloud.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Sora Gainsborough." Cloud shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you too." Tifa sat down with Sora on the couch.

"Sora, we were wondering if you could tell us more about your grandparents, like their names or your grandmother's phone number?" Sora nodded.

"Sure! My grandfather's name was Gast Faremis and my grandmother is Ifalna Gainsborough. They we're married, but my grandma just liked her last name better and didn't change it. They both lived on Destiny Island with me ever since I can remember. My grandpa died 4 years ago. According to my grandma, he was just attacked and killed by somebody. It was kind of scary for a while after that. Something like that had never happened in Destiny Island before. Grandma was afraid to leave the house, so I started going out and doing things for her. Recently, her memory has been going and she's been getting older. She was deemed unfit to be my guardian any longer when she completely forgot who I was for a week. Though for that week she did talk about my mom a lot, which she's never done before. I managed to find out where she used to live and came here, but I'm thinking now that I just got the address wrong or something." All the while Sora was talking; Cloud was ticking off a mental checklist in his head. _'His looks matched up, His first name was significant. His last name matched. He got her parents names right, and their last names.'_

'_I think I still remember her address, if he gets that right...'_ Cloud spoke up.

"What is your street address on Destiny Island?"

"3 Paopu Road."

_'He got that right too.' _Tifa then asked Sora,

"What is her phone number?" Sora reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. He gives it to Tifa, which she takes.

"I wrote it down so I wouldn't forget it; I never used my own phone so I never bothered to learn it." Tifa looks at the paper quickly then says.

"Sora, I've got to call your grandmother. I think it would help us find out more about your parents." Sora panics at this.

"Do you really have to call her?" Cloud notices this and wonders if it's all an elaborate scheme of some kind.

'_There was no question of how devastated Aerith was. The question stills lies in why. Aerith never gave any hint that the child survived in any way and all of us believed that was the source of her misery. But could it really be something else?'_ Tifa was in the same kind of train of thought when she asked.

"Yes Sora. For one, I need to know if you're really telling the truth and calling her will clear things up right away." Sora burst out.

"I didn't tell her that I was leaving! I thought maybe, I figured if she was forgetting me anyway and she wasn't allowed to be my guardian anymore, maybe it would've been better if I didn't remind her." Sora stood there looking upset and guilty. Tifa had a blank look on her face at this.

"Well that was obvious from the moment you admitted that you hitchhiked here. I mean seriously, who lets their kid hitchhike into Twilight Town of all places? Which leads me to my second reason for wanting to call her." She put her hand on Sora's shoulder. "Did you think of what might happen if she doesn't forget you completely? She's probably in a panic right now because she can't find you and she's worried sick. I want to call her and let her know that you're safe Sora." Sora starts crying at the thought that he made his grandmother worry.

"I didn't think of that." Sora said quietly. He held his head in his hands. "I probably made her so scared." Sora stops then quickly wipes his face off and smiles lightly. "This was a stupid idea; I should have figured this would happen. Grandma must be so worried right now." At the sight of him, Tifa comes to a realization.

'_He cries just like Aerith did. One moment, she'd feel like the world was gonna end and the next she was smiling and seemingly just blowing off her worries.'_ Cloud also had one thought running through his mind.

'_There's no doubt about this, his face, his name, his story. This kid is Aerith's son, no two ways about it.'_

Tifa then pulls Sora into a quick hug.

"Don't worry about it Sora. We'll call your grandma and then we'll help you figure out what to do next okay?" she releases him and smiles at him. Sora just nods back. All the while Roxas and Luneth we're standing there awkwardly, not sure what to say about the situation. Ventus finally clicks into something while they're talking. Everyone turns to look at him when he speaks.

"You guys are acting seriously weird you know that. Both of you keep looking so nervous. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you guys were hiding something." Ventus stares accusingly at his parents. _'Something is up, I know it.'_ Tifa and Cloud look at each other for a second. Tifa struggles to find something to say.

"We, uh...well..." She sighs "We knew Aerith, okay? She was...a friend." All the kids look at them in surprise. Sora speaks up first excitedly.

"You knew my mother? Really? Did you know my father too?" Cloud stands there not answering as Roxas and Luneth don't know what to say. Ventus then walks towards them.

"If you knew her why didn't you just say that?" Tifa and Cloud look at each other nervously. Ventus and Sora both looked at her for the answer.

"Ventus, Sora...It's...well, it's complicated, okay? I wanted to make sure you really are her son." Cloud then speaks up, no longer seeing the point in avoiding the topic.

"We want to make sure because if Aerith is your mother then we have a different problem." Sora looks at Cloud at this.

"What problem?" Cloud sighs

"Who your father is." Sora looks confused at this and Ventus is silent, suddenly aware of the direction this conversation was going. Tifa takes over.

"I think we should start at the beginning. Aerith is Zack's late wife and Vanitas's mother." Roxas and Luneth both join the conversation at this point.

"Woah, what? No way!"

"So you are Vanitas's brother? Well that explains why you look like him." Ventus asked the next question.

"So why not just tell Sora right from the beginning 'Hey we know your parents, they're Zack and Aerith and don't mind Vanitas, he was just being a dick because he doesn't know you.'?" Tifa sat down.

"Because this is where it gets complicated. Aerith is Sora's mother, but Zack might not be his father." Realization hits them both and all Sora just quietly says,

"..Oh." Sora is awkwardly silent, but then asks, "Do you know who, I mean, who else he might be?" Tifa nods and then looks over at Luneth.

"Luneth, you can go play video games in the den now." Luneth shook his head.

"No way, I wanna know what happened."

"Luneth, just, go downstairs for now alright? You can bring the snacks down there if you go right now."

"Done!" Luneth immediately ran for kitchen grabbed most of his snacks and headed down to play video games. Tifa then looked back at Sora once Luneth was downstairs and they could hear the game system.

"Everybody, to be honest, We don't know yet if Zack is his father...or Cloud is." Roxas and Ventus both look at their dad in shock.

"So you cheated on mom then." Cloud looked straight at Ventus who was staring straight back. Sora, realizing his part in this, sat with his head down and thought.

'_So, this means...'_ Sora's Grandmother only ever told him that his mother was unable to keep him, and he always took this to mean that she wanted to keep him, she just didn't have any money or something else was preventing her. So he never resented her for that. He always thought that wherever she was, she loved him and wanted to be his mother, but couldn't. But now, _'So mom didn't want me because she cheated on my dad and I wasn't his.'_ He sat silently as Cloud spoke firmly.

"We'll be honest with you guys because I think you two are old enough to handle this information and because Sora deserves to know." Tifa looked up at Cloud as he spoke. "All four of us, Zack, Aerith, me and your mother all went drinking one night. We got so wasted that Zack was in a brawl, Tifa was cheering him on and breaking bottles," Tifa smiled slightly at that memory. "..and me and Aerith we're so drunk that I thought she was Tifa and she thought I was Zack. We didn't realize and sober up until after we had..." Cloud stopped and Tifa continued.

"It was a really long time ago. Before that, All of us we're good friends, Me and Aerith even got pregnant and went into labour on the same days. Ventus, I bet you didn't know you share a birthday with Vanitas. We even named you guys similar sounding names, thinking in our heads you guys would be best friends when you got older." Roxas snorted at that thought and Ventus just had a blank face. "After what happened, Aerith got pregnant and she admitted to Zack that it might be Cloud's or Zack's, and Cloud was honest with me about what happened that night." She reached over and held his hand when she said this and Cloud looked at her and held her hand back. "It caused a rift between all of us that never really healed. Zack and Cloud never reconciled, but I was able to be on polite terms with Aerith, and from that our friendship eventually rekindled. I wanted to focus on something better instead of dwelling on the past. It was around this time I knew I was pregnant with Roxas, so we were excited that we were having children so close together again. She was a few months ahead of me though." Sora looked at them curiously.

"So you guys knew she was pregnant, then how come you were so surprised to find out about me?" Tifa bit her lip, not sure how to say this nicely, but then Cloud spoke again.

"She never told us, She never told anyone that...all of us thought you were dead, Sora."

"...Dead? Why...?" Cloud was silent again and Tifa picked up.

"When she was 8 months pregnant she went to visit her parents on Destiny Island. During her stay, Zack got a call that she went into labour early and rushed there as fast as he could. At the time he was in the next town over doing a job. When they got back, Zack and Aerith had the story that she had miscarried. Aerith was in tears when she told us and Zack even lifted his anger and bitterness towards us for a moment, knowing that we cared about Aerith and deep down both of us really wanted the child to be Zack's. So we really believed it was true and we grieved for her. But I guess all this time, Sora was really alive and her parents we're really raising you all this time." Sora spoke quietly then, realizing something else.

"So if she was living here all this time, then you guys would have been here when she died? I know she died when I was around 2 or 3 I think. I remember my grandma saying that to me one day, but I wasn't really that upset, I mean, I never really knew her. I thought my grandma was my mom for the longest time I remember." Tifa was quiet at this, unable to say anything because of the memory. Cloud spoke in a firmer tone then.

"I'm not sure you really want to know that story. It wasn't very pretty." Sora then said.

"I know she committed suicide." Cloud's head jerked up at him at that. Sora quickly explained.

"It was one of the things grandma told me about that one week. Actually, never mind. After listening to all of this, I think I can pretty much guess why she would do it." Sora lowered his head, his heart aching at the realizations he had from their story.

'_It's because of me. She didn't want me; I caused her so much trouble and pain. No wonder she left me with her parents.'_ Tifa caught on to what he was thinking and quickly said.

"Sora, none of this is your fault." She looked over at Cloud. "It's no one's fault. What happened, happened. You were just a child, a little kid." Ventus started walking towards the stairs.

"I'll be in my room." Tifa started to talk.

"Ventus-" He cut her off.

"I'm fine, I just, I need some time to think." Tifa put her hand across her face and folded her arm around her before looking at Roxas and Sora.

"Sora, Roxas-" This time Roxas cut her off.

"Can I go hang out with Axel and Demyx? I want Sora to meet them." Tifa looked surprised.

"Huh? Oh, sure I guess. Keep an eye on Sora though," She turned to Sora, "I don't want you getting lost, you're new around here." Roxas nodded and motioned to Sora.

"Come on, we can chill out at Axel's for a bit." Sora nodded and they both walked towards the door. Sora stopped and turned.

"Thank you for being honest with me. I appreciate it." Tifa could only nod. Cloud spoke then.

"Sora, whatever the case, you are Aerith's son and she was our close friend. You're always welcome here." Sora genuinely smiled at that.

"I guess for now I can just think of you guys as Aunt and Uncle and Cousins. That would make some kind of sense I guess?" Tifa grinned.

"Works for me! I don't have siblings so I've never been an Aunt before! Be back in time for dinner, okay guys?" Both nodded and left while Roxas said,

"See you later."


	5. Chapter 5

After the door closed, Tifa let out a sigh and sat back on the couch clutching the paper with the phone number on it. Cloud sat down next to her and held her hand in his, gently rubbing her palm. Tifa leaned against Cloud.

"How in the world are we gonna let Zack know?"

"...leave an anonymous note stuck under his door?" Tifa looked at Cloud.

"Very funny, Someone is gonna have to talk to him face to face and explain." Cloud looked pleadingly back at Tifa. She sighed again.

"It's gonna have to be me isn't it?"

"Well, even if I _was_ ever going to talk to Zack again, I dont think the first thing that comes out of my mouth should be 'Hey Zack, whats ups? Oh by the way, remember when Aerith miscarried and your son died because she got pregnant and we never found out from who exactly? Turns out he's alive and he looks like me, just thought you should know.'" Tifa just put her head in her hands.

"This isn't gonna be pretty." Cloud sighed and put his arm on her shoulders, rubbing them slightly.

"...I know." Tifa then got and walked towards the phone.

"I should at least confirm everything with Ifalna first. Just imagine what would happen if we told Zack everything and then found out the kid was lying?" Cloud walked into the kitchen with her.

"That would be beyond horrifying." Tifa dialed then stopped.

"He said she had Alzheimer's though, what if she doesnt remember him? then how will we know if hes telling the truth or not?"

"Could be a clever cover up on his part, and then the only way to tell would be to prove she has Alzheimer's. If she really did raise Sora, but now no longer remembers anything about him, she wouldn't remember what happened at Aerith's visit when he was born either. And if this kid's lying about everything, then why wouldn't she remember when Aerith had her miscarriage?"

"Unless the kid's lying and on some stroke of dumb luck she really does have Alzheimer's." Cloud rubbed his forehead.

"The only way to know what's really going on for sure would be to see her in person I guess. But it's a 9 hour trip to Destiny Islands, depending on the ferry ride over." Tifa just continued dialing.

"I guess the only thing we can do right now is just hope her memory is still fine." Cloud leaned in as ringing was heard on the other line. They both jumped as a voice answered screeching in panic.

_"Sora! Is that you? Answer me! Where did you go? Are you alright? You've had your poor grandmother worried sick!"_ Tifa just swallowed and started to speak while they both stood there awkwardly.

"...Ifalna? Is that you?"

_"...Tifa dear? Oh my, I haven't heard from you in ages darling."_

"...So I guess it's true then? Aerith didn't really miscarry, did she?"

_"...What are you talking about dear?"_

"Sora is here, Ifalna. He said he hitchiked all the way from Destiny Islands to Twilight Town in order to try to find out who his real father is."

_"..."_

"He said he never knew his parents and that you've been raising him all this time. Is that true? Why would Aerith lie about a miscarriage? Everyone was just anxious for him to be born and for everyone to see that he was Zack's child, so we could all stop worrying about it. So they could just be a happy family again. That's what we all wanted." Tifa was close to tears now, struggling to talk as the emotion resurfaced along with the memory. Tifa heard a sigh on the other end of the line.

_"...It's because that was what you all wanted. It was what she wanted. She spent her days convincing herself that it was Zack's child, there was no chance of it being Cloud's in her mind. If the child was Zack's then she could forget her mistake with Cloud and mend her relationship with her husband and her friends. Her son would have a brother and new playmate like he was expecting. She could move on." _Tears streamed down Tifa's cheeks then as her fears were confirmed.

"...So he is..."

_"Aerith went into labour prematurely, but the child wasnt stillborn. He was small, but healthy ...with bright blonde hair and blue eyes. ...It was obvious to everyone he was Cloud's." _Tifa choked back tears and wiped her face, trying to get a hold of herself. Cloud just stood in utter guilt, not even able to meet Tifa's eyes.

_"She broke down in tears at the hospital, begging me and her father for help. We just wanted to see her happy again, so we agreed to become the guardians. We came up with this elaborate scheme to decieve everyone in order to explain that she was no longer pregnant and had no child. Gast stayed with him at the hospital, while Aerith and me went back home and I made the call to Zack. The long wait for Zack was the worst. The baby was still in the hospital and either me or my husband would check up on him. She refused to see him though, she didnt want to hear anything to do with him. She mostly cried and slept, trying to recover from the pregnancy, it had been a tough one. Eventually she revealed to me she would name him Sora, but would not tell me why. Then Zack finally arrived, we fed him the miscarriage story again and Aerith's heartbroken tears seemed to convince him. The rest you probably know better than I." _

During the long explanation, Cloud had walked over and held Tifa in his arms and they both stood there, silently listening and absorbing the horrid truth.

_"...I'm sorry dear, thats the whole truth about the matter. It was about time those old secrets were shooken out, they were beginning to weigh on me and you all deserve to know the full truth. It's been so long." _Cloud answered back into the phone, still holding onto Tifa.

"...Thankyou for being honest, Ifalna. Sora will probably be staying over here now though. I know he ran away in the first place because he knew you were getting on in years and didnt want to be taken away from you."

_"Is that you Cloud? I figured as much about Sora. Take care of him for me, tell him I love him and he's always welcome for a visit, you all are. It's lonely here now that both Gast and Sora are gone."_ Tifa answered this time.

"Of course we will visit, we'll bring all the boys with us one day. I don't think you've met Luneth yet and i'm sure you'd love to see how Ventus has grown up."

_"That would be wonderful darling. I wish you well. Goodbye."_

"Goodbye." Tifa put the phone back into it's place and wiped the tears of her face. "No point in crying about anything now that its pretty much confirmed I guess. I thought I finished all of my crying a long time ago." Cloud walked up behind her and held her close again.

"...I've never meant to make you cry Tifa. I love you." She leaned back into him and held his hands.

"I know. I love you too Cloud." Tifa turns around and kisses Cloud. They stay like that for a minute before they are interrupted by footsteps and a voice proclaiming,

"Ew! Get a room!" They break apart to see Luneth making a grossed out face at them. Cloud laughed.

"I am in a room." Luneth rolled his eyes.

"I meant a different room." Cloud looked at Tifa, mischief in his eyes.

"You hear that Tifa? He wants us to take it to another room. What do you think?" Tifa laughed.

"I think the bedroom would be just fine." Tifa closed in to kiss Cloud a little bit more passionately while Luneth ran off back into the basement making fake gagging noises. They continued for a bit before Cloud broke it off saying,

"The bedroom it is then." A little while later, Ventus was seen to be getting annoyed, putting on his headphones and blasting the music.

-cut to Sora and Roxas-

"Wow, that was depressing huh?" Roxas said. Sora took a deep breath and grinned.

"No kidding." Roxas motioned in the direction of Axel's house.

"Axel's is this way. I think you'll like him, he's a pretty upbeat guy, be warned though, he's kind of a shameless prick." Sora nodded and they started walking. "if Demyx is there, he's alright to chill with, really laid back and relaxed kinda guy, bit of a stoner though." Sora spoke then.

"I'm just having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that I'm Vanitas's brother and possibly your brother too." Roxas shivered.

"That means me and Vanitas are somehow related, that's a seriously scary thought to me." Sora laughed then.

"Just think about how I feel, the guy nearly beat me to a pulp and we've never met before." Roxas snorted.

"If you think that's bad you should see how acts around the people he does know, him and his little group are people you really wanna stay away from, related or not."

"You mean him and all his friends?" Roxas shrugged.

"i wouldn't know if I'd call them friends exactly, mostly just people that he hangs around with to kill time."

"And who are they?"

"Yashiro, shes a bitch and a slut. Larxene, shes a bitch and a slut and a sadist. Seifer is an ass with a bad temper and King is his older brother. He has a worse attitude and temper then Seifer and is the de facto leader of their little group. Vanitas mainly hangs out with Larxene because their both pretty sadistic and get off on that shit. But they're not really friends because Seifer hates his attitude and gets pissed off easily. Vanitas and King go way back though, they may hate each others guts, but I dont think they distrust the other. Though I think that might change soon. Lastly there's Koki, everyone calls him "Reaper" though. Him, King and Saix, King's right hand man, are what started the little group. Saix doesn't talk much but he doesn't have to, he's pretty intimidating all on his own. In general theyre just a very unstable group of people. I would just stay away from them if I were you. Hopefully you'll never have to see them, but if we do, I'll point them out to you so you know who to avoid." Sora just stared.

"There like some kind of gang then? I heard about street gangs from my grandmother, we don't have them on Destiny islands, but she also said they werent people you want to get involved with." Roxas just looked at him in disbelief.

"Axel's gonna have fun with you, hoo boy." Sora just looked back at him.

"Huh?" He shook his head.

"Nothing, I think when we get to Axel's we should lay down some ground rules for this town and give you a tour or something of places you shouldnt wander around alone." Sora smiled.

"That'd be fun! Does this town have any cool landmarks to see?"

"...If seeing landmarks is your idea of fun, Axel is realllly gonna have fun with you."

"Does he like landmarks too?"

"..."


End file.
